Civil penalties for polluters dropped dramatically in Trump’s first two years, analysis shows

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/civil-penalties-for-polluters-dropped-dramatically-in-trumps-first-two-years-analysis-shows/2019/01/24/7384d168-1a82-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html?utm_term=.acb06bcf5abb

Civil penalties for polluters under the Trump administration plummeted during the past fiscal year to the lowest average level since 1994, according to a new analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data.

In the two decades before President Trump took office, EPA civil fines averaged more than $500 million a year, when adjusted for inflation. Last year’s $72 million in fines was 85 percent below that amount, according to the agency’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online database.

Cynthia Giles, who headed EPA’s enforcement office in the Obama administration and conducted the analysis, said the inflation-adjusted figures represent the lowest since the agency’s enforcement office was established.

The decline in civil penalties could undermine EPA’s ability to deter wrongdoing, some former agency officials said, because they help ensure it is more expensive to violate the law than to comply with it. But Trump administration officials have said they are focusing much of their effort on working with companies ahead of time so they don’t run afoul of the law, rather than punishing them after the fact. That approach, they say, will ensure business operations can thrive without harming the environment.

“The public expects EPA to protect them from the worst polluters,” she said. “The Trump EPA is not doing that. What worries me is how industry will respond to EPA’s abandonment of tough enforcement.”

https://heavy.com/news/2019/01/nicholas-sandmann-covington-catholic/



Nicholas Sandmann, a junior at Covington Catholic High School has released a statement about his involvement in the incident at the Lincoln Memorial Friday.

“I am the student who was confronted by the Native American protester,” Nick Sandmann begins.

The teen had been named on social media beginning Saturday, but it was not until this just-released statement that his identity has been confirmed

Nick Sandmann is the white teenager from the Kentucky Catholic school in a Make America Great Again Hat who was seen taunting a Native American elder, Vietnam veteran Nathan Phillips, while he was surrounded by laughing and jeering classmates, many also wearing pro-Trump MAGA gear.

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/business/stock-market-by-president/index.html

President Donald Trump has repeatedly held up the stock market as one of his preferred scorecards of his administration’s policies.

Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of Trump’s inauguration. The S&P 500 is up nearly 18% over that time frame. Going back to Ronald Reagan, that’s the second best performance in a president’s first two years in office.

How the markets will stack up during the rest of his presidency remains to be seen. CNN Business will update this tracker periodically.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3022152/why-insecurity-may-be-the-key-to-success

Maybe everything you’ve been led to believe about being a successful business leader is wrong.

What if confidence is overrated? What if faking it until you make it actually does more harm than good?

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at University College London, thinks so. His new book, Confidence: Overcoming Low Self-Esteem, Insecurity, and Self-Doubt, isn’t just another touchy-feely book telling you that you are good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you.

In fact, Confidence says the exact opposite.

“Although society places a great deal of importance on being confident, there are no genuine benefits except feeling good,” Chamorro-Premuzic writes. “In fact, lower confidence is key to gaining competence, which is the only effective strategy for gaining genuine confidence–confidence that is warranted by one’s actual competence.”

https://www.theskimm.com/news/5ihnQCn9YsvLmc24fLibCD/womens-march-2019

The Story
This weekend marks the third year of the Women's March. Dozens of marches are planned around the country, including the main march in DC.

Remind me how this got started.
The idea for the 2017 march came from a woman frustrated with President Trump’s election. It took place the day after Trump was sworn into office. In the US and abroad, millions of protesters marched in support of a variety of issues like women’s and reproductive rights as well as LGBTQ, immigrant, and civil rights. It was believed to be the largest single day of protests in US history. Last year’s march focused on getting people registered to vote ahead of the midterms. A record number of women then ran for office, with some citing the Women’s March as inspiration.

What’s the controversy I’ve been hearing about?
When the march was first organized, there were concerns that it wasn’t representative of minority groups. Then last year, some of the national leaders were accused of anti-Semitism, in part for their association with Louis Farrakhan – a man the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as the leader of a hate group. The march’s leaders say they condemn anti-Semitism but have not explicitly condemned Farrakhan. Meanwhile, the SPLC, Democratic National Committee, Human Rights Campaign, and other groups are no longer sponsoring the march.

Tell me about this year.
The Women’s March leaders are launching a plan to turn the group’s principles into an actionable policy agenda. But there are signs the movement is having trouble keeping up momentum. Attendance was down last year. Some cities are hosting alternative marches, not aligned with the national movement. Meanwhile, one Women’s March event was temporarily canceled because there were fears it lacked diversity.

theSkimm
The Women's March brought together millions of women (and men) who wanted to make sure their voices were heard. Some say it inspired them to get involved in local elections or activism. Now a movement that made history is showing some serious fractures – and it's unclear what that means for its trajectory going forward.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/politics/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-trip-cancel/index.html

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump responded Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's letter suggesting they reschedule his State of the Union address by informing Pelosi that an apparent trip she had planned to "Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed" while the government shutdown continues.

Pelosi had been scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon when the President canceled use of the military aircraft, according to two White House officials.
Another source said she is still at the Capitol but was supposed to depart in the afternoon.
The administration "worked with the Air Force and (the Defense Department) and basically took away the rights to the plane from the speaker," one White House official said.

The White House released Trump's letter to Pelosi, a day after she had sent the President a letter suggesting they reschedule his planned State of the Union address scheduled for later this month until the government shutdown is resolved.
"Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed," Trump wrote Pelosi on Thursday. "We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/investing/john-bogle-obituary/index.html

New York (CNN Business)John Bogle, who created the first index fund in 1975 and founded The Vanguard Group, died Wednesday at the age of 89.

Bogle is legend in the investing world for inventing a low-cost way for individuals to invest in the broad market, and advocating for their interests.
"Jack Bogle made an impact on not only the entire investment industry, but more importantly, on the lives of countless individuals saving for their futures or their children's futures," Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley said in a statement. "He was a tremendously intelligent, driven and talented visionary whose ideas completely changed the way we invest. We are honored to continue his legacy of giving every investor 'a fair shake.'"

Vanguard is now the largest investment firm in the world. And index funds account for trillions in assets. One of the largest -- the Vanguard 500 Index Fund -- has more than $440 billion. All Vanguard index funds combined account for more than 70% of the firms nearly $5 trillion in assets, according to the company.
Bogle was revered for his steadfast commitment to the best interest of the investor.

https://wamu.org/story/19/01/15/barely-treading-water-why-the-shutdown-disproportionately-affects-black-americans/

As the government shutdown enters its fourth week — becoming the longest in United States history — federal workers around the country are struggling to make ends meet. But according to Jamiles Lartey, a reporter with The Guardian, the shutdown is having a disproportionate effect on black workers and their families.

African-Americans make up a higher percentage of federal workers than they do of the non-government workforce. That’s in part because, for generations, government work has provided good wages and job security to African-Americans who faced more overt discrimination in the private sector.

Ari Shapiro of NPR’s All Things Considered sat down with Lartey to talk about some of the ways this disparity is playing out right now.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Ari Shapiro: Could you explain the history that led to our situation today, where African-Americans make up a higher percentage of the federal workforce than they do in the private sector?

As tough as this is for government employees, they can at least expect to get backpay. Government contract workers may not. And you say that will also disproportionately affect black business owners. How so?

Tell me about the gender divide here. Women make up 60 percent of the federal workforce — higher than the percentage they make up of the general population. What’s the significance of that gender divide on African-American families?